Coco Gauff will lose her place as the world No. 2 after losing her opening match at the 2024 Cincinnati Open, failing to defend her title in the process.
The reigning US Open champion has been at that spot in the rankings since June. She overtook this year's Australian Open winner, Aryna Sabalenka, after she lost to Mirra Andreeva in the French Open quarterfinal.
Gauff's results have not been as strong as she hoped since the French Open, where she reached the semifinal. The American lost to her compatriot Emma Navarro in the fourth round of Wimbledon.
The 20-year-old played the women's singles, women's doubles, and men's doubles at the Olympics, held at Roland-Garros. However, she could not take home a medal despite being the top seed in the women's doubles alongside Jessica Pegula.
Gauff furthered her disappointment at the Canadian Open, where she lost her second match to Diana Shnaider. Despite this, she still hung onto the world No. 2 ranking after Sabalenka lost in the quarterfinal to Amanda Anisimova.
The American No. 1 knew she needed a good week at the Cincinnati Open to retain that ranking. She was defending many points after winning the WTA-1000 event last year.
Unfortunately for Gauff, Yulia Putintseva shocked her in the round of 32 in Cincinnati. The 2023 champion's old frailties with her forehand haunted her in the deciding set against the Kazakhstani.
Unlike the Canadian Open, other results will not save Gauff's ranking this time. She is guaranteed to lose her spot as No. 2 when the rankings are updated next week.
Gauff loses 890 points after her early exit from the Cincinnati Open. That puts her at No. 3 on 6743 points in the live rankings. Elena Rybakina is No. 4 on 5931 points. There is no chance of the 2022 Wimbledon champion surpassing Gauff after she was shocked by Leylah Fernandez in Cincinnati.
Sabalenka defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto to advance to the round of 16 at the Cincinnati Open. Her next match is an intriguing clash with Elina Svitolina, who had match points to defeat the Belarusian in Rome a few months ago.
If Sabalenka lost to Svitolina, she would lose 230 points. However, her overall points tally would still be 7136. Therefore, she will end the tournament in Ohio ahead of Gauff in the rankings regardless of how far she goes at the event.
The news is disappointing for the US Open champion, who did so much impressive work to reach No. 2 in the world. Unfortunately, the situation could worsen if she does not go far at Flushing Meadows this year.
Gauff received a substantial 2000 points for winning the US Open. If she does not make the semifinal in New York, she will drop out of the Top 4 in the rankings.
Jasmine Paolini, the current world No. 5, lost in the first round of the 2023 US Open, meaning she has a minuscule ten points to defend this year. If she loses in the opening round again, her points total will be 5168. Gauff would have 5143 points if she made the quarterfinal.
The 20-year-old could also drop below No. 5 if someone below her in the Top 10 wins the US Open. She will work to prevent that scenario from happening.
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